


Sleep In Peace

by SearchingWolf



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 17:19:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11109216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SearchingWolf/pseuds/SearchingWolf
Summary: Ryder has been through a lot since they woke up on the Hyperion. It finally comes to a boiling point, and Jaal helps her get through it.





	Sleep In Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Just a cute little snapshot of the beginnings of Sara and Jaal's romance!

It had been a long day.

A long month, really. Well, now that she thought of it, it'd really just been a long life since they woke up from their 600 year nap.

Ryder sighed as she plopped down on her bed and put her head in her hands. They had just gotten back from a trip to the Nexus, and Ryder had spent so long just sitting next to her brother, wishing and hoping for him to wake up. Hell, even just for Sam to make another connection, just so she could _talk_ to him. But like everything else in this galaxy, it never worked out easy like that.

Ryder was feeling the stresses that were placed upon her, and try as she might she just couldnt unwind. Every time she went to sleep, all she could see was her Dad dying, over and over again.

 _My fault. It was my fault._ Her mind nagged at her, and she huffed, running her hands vigorously through her hair before she stood up quickly. It was fairly late in the evening, so the ship was quite except for the ever constant humming of the engine. Sam, as was usual for the evening time, was just a quiet thought in the back of her mind. They got along very well, but he knew she liked her solitude, so he tried to give it to her at least a few times a day.

She sighed again, thinking about how it should have been her Dad here, in this spot. Or hell, even her brother probably would have done better. How the hell was she supposed to pull off trying to stop a crazy new alien who was intent on enslaving every race they came across? Before she came to Andromeda she'd never even killed someone before!

Ryder squeezed her eyes shut tight at the memory of her first kill. The angry Kett, who had just been beating the crap out one of her own. Instinct took over, and before she knew it her biotics had crushed the alien into a pulp. Her stomach twisted just like it did at that moment, when she realized just exactly what she was capable of.

 _I need a distraction,_ she decided, and rushed for the door. It slide open and she twisted to crap the ladder, climbing up two rungs at a time. If there was one thing she _really_ didn't want right now, it was to run into Lexi. The Asari meant well, of course, but the sleeping pills she had recommended Ryder take gave her an awful case of foggy brain and made the nightmares worse, and she just really didn't feel like dealing with that right now.

She stretched her arms up over her head as she walked slowly towards the terminal. No one was there, so she kept walking up to the meeting room. Lost in her thoughts, she started pacing, just going in circles as her thoughts and stresses piled in her mind.

As she was coming around, she saw that Jaal's door was open, and she caught a glimpse of him tinkering on what looked like his rifle. He happened to look up at the same time and gave her a huge smile, which turned into concern as he looked at her. Ryder realized just a little too late that she hadn't returned the smile, as stressed and upset as she was, so she sighed when he put his things down and walked out to meet her.

"Ryder? Is everything all right?" Jaal asked, his voice thrumming soothingly. Ryder tried to fake a smile, but as she looked up into those sparkling eyes of his, she felt a small lump trying to build in her throat. It took her a minute before she could respond.

"Yeah, just...a lot on my mind, I guess," she stuttered, trying once again to smile but probably grimacing instead. "Sorry, just...it's a lot."

Jaal nodded understandingly as he watched her. "You know, I don't know much about humans, but even I can see that you are doing very well for all you have been through." He put a hand on her shoulder, and Ryder couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks. "I can't imagine how you've made it this far keeping everything bottled up inside."

Ryder opened her mouth to say something, but instead a half strangled sob tried to come out and before she knew it, she was enveloped in Jaal's safe, warm arms. As he squeezed her in a tight hug, Ryder felt her control slip completely away from her as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her chest heaved with the sorrow and stress she had been through, bottled up for so long with no way to escape. She gripped his back as she hugged him just as tightly as he held her, and she could feel him stroking her hair and murmuring softly as she sobbed against him.

Ryder didn't know how long they stood their like that, but when the tears and sobbing finally stopped, she felt her body trying to give out underneath her. In an instant, Jaal swooped her up into his arms, and she gave a surprised little yelp as he cradled her in his arms and headed for her room. Her face must have looked like a beet as much as she was blushing, but she couldn't bring herself to fight against him because he was just so soft and warm...and he smelled _so good._

He carried her all the way into her quarters and softly laid her on her bed, taking a small blanket and pulling it over her. He cupped her face in his hand and stood to go, but Ryder grabbed his hand.

She looked up into those eyes, and Jaal must have seen the silent plea, because he smiled lovingly and laid down right beside her, scooping her against his side and kissing her forehead softly.

"Rest, Taoshay. I will chase the demons of your mind away. You are safe with me," he whispered, and Ryder drifted off to a finally peaceful sleep as she listened to Jaal's breathing and beating heart.


End file.
